Disney Adjusts Extended Evening Hours, Making Major Change Through Summer

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fireworks

Credit: Disney

Walt Disney World Resort offers a chance for select Resort Guests to enjoy the Disney Parks after the crowds have gone home.

Last year, Walt Disney World began offering Extended Evening Hours for select Resort Guests to enjoy a Disney Park after hours, typically two times a week.  At this time, only those staying at the Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villas (as well as a few hotels that aren’t owned or operated by Disney) are eligible to stay in the theme parks for extended hours at night.

Spaceship Earth EPCOT
Credit: Disney

Per the official website, the Disney Resort hotels that are offering extended evening hours are as follows:

Disney Deluxe Resorts

  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Disney’s Beach Club Resort
  • Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
  • Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
  • Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
  • Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
animal kingdom lodge lobby
Credit: Disney

Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts

  • Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
  • Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
  • Disney’s Beach Club Villas
  • Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
  • Disney’s Old Key West Resort
  • Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
  • Disney’s Riviera Resort
  • Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
  • The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Other Select Hotels

  • Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
  • Shades of Green® on Walt Disney World®
Disney's Swan and Dolphin
Credit: Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin Resort Hotel

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will host its first Extended Evening Hours event on Wednesday, April 13 from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Disney has not confirmed as of yet what attractions will be available during this time, but interestingly enough, the Disney Park will not be on the updated Extended Evening Hours moving forward.

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway Sign on the Chinese Theater
Credit: Disney Imagineers via IG: @waltdisneyimagineering

The Extended Evening Hours schedule for Walt Disney World Resort, which has been updated through the end of  May, can be seen below, but is subject to change:

  • Wednesday, Mar 16: Magic Kingdom 11:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
  • Monday, Mar 21: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Mar 23: Magic Kingdom 11:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
  • Monday, Mar 28: EPCOT  11:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
  • Tuesday, Mar 29: Magic Kingdom 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. 
  • Monday, Apr 4: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Apr 6: Magic Kingdom 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.    
  • Monday, Apr 11: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Apr 13: Disney’s Hollywood Studios 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Monday, April 18: EPCOT 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, April 20: Magic Kingdom 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Monday, April 25: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, April 27: Magic Kingdom 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Monday, May 2: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 4: Magic Kingdom 9:00 – 11:00 p.m.
  • Monday, May 9: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 11: Magic Kingdom 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Monday, May 16: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, May 17: Magic Kingdom 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
  • Monday, May 23: EPCOT  9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday: May 25: Magic Kingdom 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
cinderella castle 50th
Credit: Disney

As you can see on the schedule, EPCOT is slated to stay the same for the remainder of the spring and into summer, hosting Extended Evening Hours every Monday from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

However, Magic Kingdom is beginning to see some major changes to its Extended Evening Hours schedule. The Disney Park will host Extended Evening Hours on Wednesday most of the time, but will still transition to Tuesday typically once a month. In addition, Magic Kingdom’s Extended Evening Hours are being extended through the rest of March– as Disney World hours have been extended— and it seems that the hours will be extended yet again as summer approaches.

Cinderella castle at night
Credit: Disney

Walt Disney World Resort is home to many iconic attractions like Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom; Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios; Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest (when it’s open), and Avatar Flight of Passage in Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom; and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Soarin’ Around The World, Test Track, and Spaceship Earth in EPCOT.

What do you think of Disney’s Hollywood Studios being added to Extended Evening Hours? Let us know in the comments below!

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district! Or, how about Disneyland Resort for a trip to enjoy Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure? 

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